Discussion on the Sacramento Regional Wastewater Treatment Plant’s

NPDES PermitDelta Stewardship Council

October 28, 2010Stan Dean

District Engineer

SRCSD Background

• SRWTP began operating in 1982

• Replaced 22 separate treatment systems to improve water quality in region

• Last NPDES Permit issued in 2000

• RWQCB issued Tentative Permit Sept. 3, 2010

• Service area includes unincorporated Sacramento County; the cities of Citrus Heights, Elk Grove, Folsom, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and West Sacramento; and the communities of Walnut Grove and Courtland

SRCSD Service Area

Tentative Permit Leads to Expensive Treatment

• Nitrification = $582 million• Denitrification = $200 million• Microfiltration = $1.16 billion• UV Disinfection = $116 million

How much will this help the Delta?

• 2% overall improvement in ecosystem health?

• 5% overall improvement in ecosystem health?

• Will it be more?

• Will it be less?

How far should we go?

• If costs are $2 billion?

• If $2 billion was only $200 million?

• If you are the one who has to pay for it, do your answers change?

• Would your answers be different if you were already struggling to make ends meet?

Where is the cost/benefit analysis for Delta fixes?

• Project “X”– $1 Billion

– 2% Improvement

• Project “Y”– $500 Million

– 4% Improvement

Cost to Sacramento’s Ratepayers

Total Project Costs

Annual Operating

Cost

Monthly Residential Charge for Wastewater Treatment

Impact Fees per household (or equivalent)

Infill New

Current Future Current Future Current Future

$2.06 billion

$77 million

$20.00* $61.50 $ 2,800 $13,000 $7,450 $35,000

*This does not include a separate monthly charge for sewer collection services, which is currently around $20 per month.

SRCSD’s Position

• Removing about half of the ammonia is prudent to address future conditions.

• Additional treatment not adequately justified due to a lack of scientific certainty on the Delta benefits and the cost.

Concern with Letter

• After the fact approval by the DSC

• Differing opinion on the significance of ammonium in the Delta.

Reducing the Ammonium Load

• May 2009 – Treatment Plant changed operation to achieve 12% reduction

• Water recycling

South Sacramento Agriculture & Habitat Water Recycling Project

Moving into the 21st Century

There is much we know how to do, and our possibilities are vast.

The 21st century must be about balance and reconciliation; choosing possibilities that we

can afford.